Cryptocurrency can no longer be used to help finance Canadian election campaigns after the Senate passed legislation banning bitcoin and other hard-to-trace digital assets from federal political activities.Blacklock's Reporter says the measure, approved by senators in a 58-4 vote, is the first federal law of its kind to prohibit the use of cryptocurrency in political financing, with the government arguing it is necessary to prevent anonymous and foreign influence in Canadian elections.Bill C-25 amends the Canada Elections Act to ban the use of cryptocurrency for partisan activities, partisan advertising, election advertising and election surveys. Violations could result in fines of up to $100,000.The legislation also prohibits other forms of difficult-to-trace payments, including money orders and prepaid cards, defined as physical or electronic products that can be loaded with funds.Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said the changes are intended to close potential loopholes before they can be exploited.“Cryptocurrency presented ways of getting around the laws,” MacKinnon told the House of Commons during debate on the bill.“We have taken measures in the bill to make sure cryptocurrency would play no part in the funding of our political process or of candidates.”MacKinnon previously described the legislation as a preventive measure rather than a response to any known abuse of cryptocurrency in Canadian campaigns.Speaking to reporters in March, he said he was unaware of any cases where digital currencies had been used to violate election financing laws.“I think this is most definitely a preventive measure,” said MacKinnon..The government has argued the legislation is part of a broader effort to strengthen protections against foreign interference in Canadian politics.“Canada’s elections belong to Canadians,” said MacKinnon. “Outside money, influence and threats have no place in them.”He added that the new rules are designed to close channels for anonymous and foreign funding while protecting federal elections, leadership contests and nomination races.The bill received support across party lines, with no MPs speaking against the cryptocurrency ban.Conservative MP Kelly Block said measures targeting anonymous funding mechanisms were warranted given past concerns about foreign influence in Canadian politics.“Changes to prevent anonymous and hard-to-trace funding channels are welcome,” Block told the Commons.She pointed to allegations that foreign money had previously been routed through Canadian intermediaries to conceal its source and influence public debate.The legislation also comes amid heightened concerns over foreign interference following findings by the 2024 Commission on Foreign Interference.The commission documented evidence that agents linked to the Chinese Communist Party funnelled approximately $250,000 in illegal contributions to multiple politicians considered favourable to Beijing during the 2019 federal election..A confidential 2023 briefing prepared for the Prime Minister’s Office alleged that at least 11 candidates and 13 political staff members were connected to foreign interference networks linked to the People’s Republic of China, though no individuals were publicly identified.The memo warned that hostile state actors continue to exploit weaknesses in Canada’s political system because consequences remain limited.“Until foreign interference is viewed as an existential threat to Canadian democracy and governments forcefully and actively respond, these threats will persist,” the briefing stated.With Senate approval, the cryptocurrency ban is now set to become law.
